Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-01-14

scorpions have scourged his w;cl.aapa %
and have tried to cheer him whan ln;,,n
I,eht; ana vet am compelled to testify on
.ne STAND To-day that he has sometimes re-
Jec1ea my mission. Oh, how many Guns
u NE nave l pressed to his Inns that he
uashea Gown, and how often has be stood
~ M.n l.ls hafn heel on the bleeding heart of
~. Me 5oh OF God! pains me very much
.n.s naye 10 testify against this Christ an
who will in no wise clear tho on;IIv snu
that this Christian man has done wronG
ne mas been worldly. He has been neg
lect1ui. lie has done thousand things he
ought not to have done, and left undcne
thousand ~, things he ought to have DONE"
ihat Will do. Conscience. You can sit
down. S"AA GU
The third witness call in the case is an
Angel of God. Bri ht and shining one.
What dost thou here? What hast thou to
say against this man on trial2 aOh!" says
the angel, II have been messenger to
nun. L have guarded him. have watched
him. With this wing have defended him,
and oftentimes when he knew it not led
MN into tho green pastures and beside the
still waters. snatched from him the
poisoned chalices. When bad spiri 9 came
upon him to destroy b m 1 fought them
back with infinite tierceness; and yet I have
TO testify TO- day that he has rejected my
mission. He has not done as he ought to
have done. Though came from the sky
he drove me back. Though with this wing
l defended m, and though with tn voice
wooed him, l have to announce his null
tiplied imperfect ons. dare not keep back
the testimony, for then should not dare
to appear again among the sinless ones be-
fore the white throne"
There is only one more witness to be
called on behalf of the prosecution, and
that is the great, the holy, the august, the
omnipotent Spirit Of God. We bow down
this man! "Oh, yes" says the Holy One,
II know him. Ihave slriven with him
thousand times, and though sometimes he
did seem to repent. he fell back ag lin as
often from his first estate. Ten thousand
times ten thousand has he grieyed me, al
though the Bible warned him, saying:
'Grieve not the Holy Ghost. Quench not
the spirit Yes, he has driven me back.
Though 1 am the third person of tie
Trinity, he has trampled on my mission,
and the blood of the atonement Tat /
brought with which TO cleanse his soul, he
sometimes despised. I came from the
throne of God 10 convert, and comfort, and
sanctlfy, and yet look at that man, and
see what he is compared with what, unre-
sisted, would have made him."
The evidence on The part of the prose-
cution has closed. Now let the defense
bring on the reJuttal testimony. What
have you, o Christian soul, to bring in re-
ply to this evidence of the World, of
Conscience, of the Angel, and of the Holy
Ghost? No evidence? Are ali these things
true? "Yes, unclean, unclean," says every
Christian soul. What? Do you not begin
to tremble at the thought of condemnation?
We have c. me now 20 the most Interest,"
! ing part OF this great trial. The evidence
all i'll, the advocates speak. The profess
sion Of an advocate is lull of responsib lily.
In England and the United S ates there
have arisen men who in this calling have
been honored by their race and thrown
contempt upon those who in the profession
have been guilty of great many mean
nesses. That profession will be honorable
| as long as it has attached 10 it such names
Kent, and Sout lard, and William Writ.
The court room las sometimes been the
scene of very marvellous and thrilling
things. Some of you remember the ia
nous Giyard will case, where one of our
| advocates pleaded the cause OF the Bible
and Christianity in mastery Anglo Saxon,
every paragraph n thunderbot.
Some OF you have read of the famous
| trial in We minister Hall of Warren Hast
ings, the despoiler of India. That great
man had conquered India by splendid
talents, by courage, by bribes, by gigantic
dishonesty. The whole world had rung
| with applause or condemnation. Cat cred
i'll Westminster Hall wa, one of the most
famous audiences ever gathered. Foreign
| ministers and princes sat there. Peers
marched in clad in ermine and gold.
Mighty men and women from all lands
looked down upon the scene. Amid all
| that pomp and splendor, and amid an en-
element such as has seldom been seen in
any court room, Edmund Burke advanced,
! in speech which will lst as long as the
English language, concluding with this
burning charge, which made Warren Hast
ings erin e and COVER: 81 iApeach him in
the name OF the Commons house of Par
Lament, whose trust he has BETRAYED. I
impeach Linn in the name of the English
nation. whose ancient honor he has sulled.
l impeach him in the name of the people
Of India, whose + gifts he has trampled on,
aud whose country he has turned into a
desert. And, lastly, i'll the name of human
nature, in the name OF both sexes, in the
name OF every age and rank, l impeach
him us the common enemy and orpressor
of ALL"
But turn from the recital of these mem
orable occasions to grlnder trial, and
have to tell you that in this trial OF the
Christian for the life Of his soul the advo-
Gates are mightier, wiser, and more elo-
quent. The evidence all being in, Justice
rises on behalf Of the prosecution to make
his plea. With tie Bible open in his hand
she reads the law, stern and inhexible. and
the penalty: 1.-The soul that 8 nneth it shall
de-" Then he says: 20, thou Judge and
lawgiver, This is thine own statute, and all
the ev dence in earth and heav. agr> es in
stating that this man has Sinned against all
these enactments. Now let the sword leap
from its ecabbbard. Shall man go
through the yer; fames Of Sinai unsinged?
Let tie law be executed. Let jud ,ment be
pronounced. Let him die. demand that
he de-"
o, Christian, does it not look very dark
FIR thee? Who will plead OH thy side in
so forlorn n cause2 Sometimes man will
be brought into court OF law, and he
will have no friends aud no money,
and the Judge will look over the
bar and say: as there any one who
will volunteer 10 take this mans case
and defend him!" and some Young man
~; 200 ~, o,,d GAYS. ct viii ha his co,,Ioal !"